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UNITED WE FALL - Law firm outsourcing is all the rage right now, but, as Dan Packel reports, a $128 million lawsuit filed by LeClairRyan’s bankruptcy trustee against UnitedLex makes it clear that partnering with outside vendors can be risky business. In June 2018, the law firm and the third-party vendor unveiled the launch of ULX Partners LLC, a joint venture that was intended to allow law firms to outsource back-office operations and receive equity stakes in the new company. LeClairRyan’s trustee now alleges in a suit filed in Virginia bankruptcy court Tuesday that the terms of the deal with UnitedLex served only to push the cash-strapped firm “further into insolvency.” Now UnitedLex itself faces substantial liability for allegedly sucking money out of the firm, at the expense of LeClairRyan’s other creditors. UnitedLex spokeswoman Stacey Yonkus said in a statement yesterday that the allegations “have no merit.”
